Today’s Kindle deals include some newer books and some classics. This has been a really good week for deals!
(Yesterday on the blog: Counsel for Couples)
Why Charismatics and Non-Charismatics Can Get Along
Tom Schreiner: “We don’t have to deny that our view on spiritual gifts or on whether or not infants should be baptized are important. These issues do matter, but they’re not first-order issues. They’re matters on which faithful believers disagree. And we celebrate the good work that the Lord is doing in those who differ from us, and we acknowledge that we don’t see everything clearly now…” (I generally agree, but am not certain that evolving Reformed-charismatic worship will continue to be acceptable for non-charismatics.)
Shifts in How Couples Meet
Watch this fascinating visualization to see the changes in how couples have met over the past few decades. You’ll want to keep an eye out for “met online.”
The Ancient Heresy Driving Modern Identity
Writing for TGC Australia, Akos Balogh has a brief introduction to an ancient heresy that rears its ugly head again and again.
690 Biblical Counseling Resources for Your Life and Ministry
This is an extensive, annotated list of recommended counseling resources.
Europe and the Experience of Slavery
Philip Jenkins has a very interesting article about slavery in Europe, showing its long and ugly history, even before and apart from the African slave trade. “We also tend to forget just how often Europeans were victims of the slave trade, as much as perpetrators. And in saying that, no, I am not repeating the myth that early indentured servitude in the Americas was comparable to black plantation slavery. It wasn’t. I am talking here about slave trading that affected the European Christian heartland.”
Who Was Saint Patrick and Should Christians Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?
Stephen Nichols makes the introduction. “When it comes to Saint Patrick, the true story is even more exciting than the legend and the myth. The facts are far better than the fable. This day that belongs to St. Patrick has become about leprechauns, shamrocks, pots of gold, and green—green everywhere. Famously, the City of Chicago dumps forty pounds of its top-secret dye into the river. A green racing stripe courses through the city. But long before there was the St. Patrick of myth, there was the Patrick of history. Who was Patrick?”
We Really Are Stronger Together
Last week my church commissioned one of our pastors and 40 of our people to shore up a nearby church that had fallen into numerical decline. While they will be missed, we are so thankful to be able to serve the church in Toronto in this way.
Flashback: The Character of the Christian: Mature and Humble
Christian leaders—and all Christians—are to strive to become more like Christ—they are to grow in spiritual maturity. As they grow in maturity, they will necessarily grow in humility.
Jesus did not die to increase our self-esteem. Rather, Jesus died to bring glory to the Father by redeeming people from the curse of sin.
—Ed Welch
